Echo
by Inhibitedmonochrome
Summary: Hermione keeps a diary that she doesn't expect anyone to find. Then a mysterious person starts conversing with her through it. Unexpectedly, it blossoms into friendship and something more. One day though, they have to meet. Who is this mystery pen pal? Why does he have so many secrets?
1. Chapter 1

I know I shouldn't be starting a new story when The Happening is still incomplete, but I'm having a writer's block for that story at the moment, and I couldn't pass up on this plot idea. This story takes place in Draco and Hermione's third year at Hogwarts. Enjoy (:

* * *

Hermione makes her way up to the astronomy tower slowly, enjoying the long climb, the rare moment of rest she has. Even with a time turner, it's exhausting to juggle nearly twice the number of subjects that everyone else does. Not to mention come out tops in all of them. But she tells herself she will, so she does.

For an hour every Thursday, she gets a chance to breathe and rise above the waters that sometimes seem to threaten to drown her. She walks over to a dark corner of the tower that no one ever notices. Reaching out, she pulls out her diary from a crack between 2 cobblestones that she found near the beginning of the year. She placed a stasis spell on her diary before she used the crack to hide it, so other than a slight moldy smell, the diary looks as good as new.

She flips through all the pages, reading each entry until she reaches a clean page. It is a regular routine to her now. It helps her to reflect and understand herself, past events and other people better. She smiles as she reads an entry about Ron.

_I told Ron not to eat the cream pastry. Of course, the idiot ignored me and greedily ate it in one, two bites before I could warn him. He literally turned red once he realized he'd turned into a canary. Fred and George got even more laughs out of that though…they thought a red canary was even more amusing than a yellow one…not that I disagree. Those 2 can go a bit overboard sometimes. But once in a while, I guess they make Hogwarts a slightly more fun and happier place for everyone. _

She shakes her head at that one and laughs. A few entries later, there's one about Harry.

_I can't BELIEVE some of the things Harry does without thinking. Honestly, picking a fight with Malfoy (even if he is a git) in the middle of the hallway?! Harry's not the best fighter, so he got a bloodied nose and a cut lip, but Malfoy came out of it unharmed. Which of course, is totally unfair, since he was the one who provoked Harry first. Okay, actually he provoked me, but of course, Harry always thinks he has to protect my honour, even if I tell him I can handle it myself. Which is sweet, but unnecessary. But sweet._

Although the memory is a good one, but her smile falters as her eyes rest upon that name. She sighs, and takes out a quill, dipping it in a fresh bottle of ink.

_Dear diary,_

_Where should I start? It's so hard to put on paper something that I myself can't fully understand. I think I'm beginning to care about Draco Malfoy. You know, the one who constantly calls me names and bullies Harry and Ron and just does horrible things to us all? Studying together in the library (a total coincidence) has brought me to the conclusion that something's changed him. We just sit beside each other and keep quiet. He doesn't even call me names anymore. I look at his eyes every time we meet in the library, but it's always the same. Cold. Grey. Neutral. It's almost as if he couldn't bring himself to spend the time mocking me. But I find myself drawn to him, the way he has become more reserved, and I find myself caring about what has made him so. Why is this happening to me? Harry and Ron will never see the change in Draco, that I'm sure. They wouldn't believe it. I'm not sure I fully believe it either. This is so much based on instinct, and not logic. I feel terribly insecure about it all. _

_Hermione._

She closes the cover of the book and replaces it in the crack. After throwing her things back into her book bag, she swings it over her shoulder and stands up. Holding the tine golden time turner in her fingers, she spins it gently once, and disappears an instant later.


	2. Chapter 2

I have changed some tiny details in Hermione's last diary entry from chapter 1. Please read it again before reading this! I'm trying to be faster with my updates, so here's chapter 2. Enjoy (:

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In the middle of the room of requirement, Draco slumps in disappointment. He needs to focus on his task, but he is too weary and frustrated to continue. He looks hopelessly at the old brown pine wood cupboard on his right. He has been trying again and again to fix the thing, but all his efforts have been for naught. He rubs his face with a hand and sighs. He needs a break.

Leaving the room of requirement, he heads towards Hogwarts highest tower.

* * *

Hermione stares and stares at her diary, not believing her own eyes. Right after her last entry is a page filled with handwriting foreign to her. She cringes and looks around, wondering if the person who did it is anywhere near. Her innermost thoughts, all read by a stranger! She looks down at the penmanship which surpasses her own in elegance and character.

_Dear Hermione_

_You like Draco, do you? He's a good friend of mine. Most girls _would_ fancy him; he has the looks. And don't think too much about his change in behavior. Stuff happens. Don't be too shocked by me writing here. I can be trusted, even if I am in Slytherin. Write me a reply, won't you? It gets lonely in this tower, in this school where everyone's too naïve to see what's happening in the world out there._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Echo._

She considers for a moment before picking up her quill. There isn't anything to lose from replying. Whoever wrote in her diary must have read it too. The prospect of writing to a stranger in this manner excites her for some reason. She throws caution to the wind and sets her quill down.

_Dear Echo. Is that what you want me to call you? Despite what you said, I am pretty shocked that you have read my diary…and written in it too. Don't you know it is rude to peek into people's private thoughts? Although I really shouldn't have left it in this tower. I'm not sure what Draco's going through is something that should be ignored. Your assurance doesn't help much unfortunately, I find myself still worried about him. By the way, you sound pretty desolate. May I ask why? Do you feel the impending war too? I'm pretty worried about that. I guess I tend to be worried about lots of things. Why do you come up to this tower? I didn't know there was anyone else who visited this isolated place._

_Hermione._

She bites her lip. Is this a good idea? After all, whoever was reading her diary is a Slytherin. She decides to be more cautious about what she writes, until she can trust that person. Closing her book, she slides it back into place and stands up. She looks over her shoulder at the dark crevice once again in hesitation, before rushing down the spiral steps for her next lesson.


	3. Chapter 3

I'd like to thank MrsAdamLambert for her review (: This chapter is for you. Enjoy.

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The next time she checks on her diary is almost 2 weeks later, as all the professors have been assigning extra homework in view of the coming term examinations. She takes a deep breath. Would the mysterious pen pal under an equally mysterious name have replied? Gingerly, she pulls her diary out. Cautiously, she flips the pages before stopping at a page of unfamiliar script once again.

_Dear Hermione,_

_Yes, yes, call me Echo. You can't blame me for picking up your diary when you're the one who left it in the open. I find it amusing that you take such little caution with your diary, given how you're always overly protective of Potter and Weasel. Honestly, Draco's fine. I should know. I'm not desolate, just rather frustrated, and perhaps I'm just looking for someone who's, for once, not manipulative, with hidden intentions or other sneaky attitudes, to talk to. And to answer your question, why don't you ask yourself. Why do you come to the astronomy tower, even though you have your 2 best friends? _

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Echo._

Hermione knots her eyebrows in confusion. It isn't so much the last question that surprises her so much as her inability to provide an answer to it. Echo must be a very close friend of Draco's, from his descriptions. She wonders who he (her intuition told her it was a "he") could be. Crabbe? Goyle? She wrinkles her nose, doubting their ability to even write. Theodore Nott? He doesn't really seem close enough to Draco though. Blaise Zabini? Perhaps it is him. Of course, she hardly knows Malfoy well enough to identify all his close associates. She flips the page, and oddly enough, there is another entry.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I suppose you've been busy, because I've seen how you're all frazzled in the mornings while having breakfast. Watch your health._

_It's hard not having any close friends, I've come to realize. There's no one there to help me when I need it, or to talk to when I need to spill things out. Friends are good for all that nice stuff, aren't they? I suppose circumstances don't permit me to have any though. They may seem like friends, but when it comes down to it, they wouldn't do anything that would involve a sacrifice on their part for me._

_Then again, this is to protect myself too. I never give my heart away to anyone else. So I never get hurt. Or even if I do, I heal quickly. _

_I'm sorry about the rambling; I'm just really tired from this week. Reply soon._

_Echo._

She feels rather disappointed that he did not sign off with any salutation. For some reason, it comes across as rather disconnected and cold. He must be a lonely person, from what she can infer. Unlike him, she has Harry and Ron.

After a while longer though, she frowns slightly and a pucker forms across her forehead. She knows she has her friends, but from what Echo said, she thinks that perhaps her regular trips to the tower and her hidden diary are somewhat related to his attitude. She too, holds herself back to some extent. She trusts Harry and Ron fully; maybe then, it is herself that she cannot trust. To love unconditionally, to give her friends everything of herself, including the ability to break her heart, is not something she can do. Or so she thinks.

She sighs wistfully. It's a sanctuary she keeps for herself to run to and cower in, in case her world every crumbles and she finds herself devastated. She doubts she will ever give away that room in her heart, the security measure that allows her to breathe easier on days when all she feels is negativity and angst.

She settles down to pen a reply to Echo, trying to find out more about this mysterious Slytherin who is rousing emotions and thoughts in her that she buried before.


End file.
